And Yet We Don't Stay Down
by eternalglitch
Summary: Told that they can't when so clearly they can, Midoriya Izuku and Shinsou Hitoshi set out together to prove that once and for all, it's not the quirk that defines the person, but rather the person that defines themself. Unfortunately, the small vigilante duo don't go unnoticed by bigger threats than they can handle for nearly long enough...


The heat of summer caused sweat to trickle down Shinsou's back, cicadas loudly chirping as he wandered back home from the convenience store. He sighed, shifting the plastic bag to his other hand as he idly watched the people passing by. He didn't recognize anyone in this part of the city, but that had been the main point of going this far out of his way. It was summer, after all. All of his middle school classmates would undoubtedly also be heading to the convenience stores, and Shinsou had had more than enough of them for the year already. His brow furrowed and his grip unconsciously tightened, the drinks clinking against each other from within the bag.

He was prevented from having to further linger on his thoughts, however, when he heard a loud explosion. His head snapped around, eyes widening a fraction. A bomb? Was there a villain attack in this area? He looked back down the road towards the station, hesitating, but his feet turned and started walking and then running before he could stop himself. _Stupid,_ he thought. _You're not authorized to use your quirk to do anything. You'd only get scolded for trying. Can you handle a quirk usage offense on your record if you want even a chance at getting into UA?_

But another explosion rang out, and Shinsou broke into a full on sprint, heart hammering away in time with his steps. _But wouldn't I be unable to forgive myself if I didn't do something as well?_

He skidded to a halt, panting, as his eyes skimmed the scene before him. His shoulders relaxed a bit when he noticed it was just a group of gawky teenagers his age. Showing off their flashy quirks, no doubt. Shinsou sighed. Of course. What was he even thinking of doing, anyways? This was a waste of his time.

He turned to go, but that was when he made a mistake that would change the course of his entire life. He glanced back, just for a second, and he met the eyes of one of the kids clustered in the group across the park.

They had wide, green eyes that were filled with tears. And something about them made Shinsou pause, his mind churning as he recalculated the way the other teenagers closed in around the teen, little pops of fire coming off of the hands of what looked like the leader of the group. He shoved the kid, and Shinsou watched as the boy fell onto the ground, throwing his arms up over his head as the group surrounded him, out for blood.

Shinsou knew their type.

"Hey, bullies!" Shinsou yelled, whipping back around and stalking towards the group, dropping his drinks where he had been standing. They hit the ground with a thud, but Shinsou doesn't look, intention fully focused on the people ahead of him. A few heads turned, and Shinsou kept talking, voice almost shaking with rage. "What, don't have the courage to answer me? You're a bunch of cowards, ganging up like this. I bet your quirks are all super useless, and you're just trying to make up for your own shortcomings!"

"What the fuck did you just say to me?!" The leader snarled, his groupies also responding in a chorus of angry shouts, and Shinsou grinned in dark satisfaction.

"I said," he said, calmly, deliberately. "Go find the nearest beach, fountain, or stream and go cool yourselves off with a short swim."

He'd be lying if he said he had only felt a small amount of satisfaction seeing the mob all quietly turn and scatter, wandering in different directions in search of a water source. He watched them all go, all of them except for the boy that had met his eyes, who was still sitting there, hands tentatively up.

Shinsou nodded, deciding that he was done here and went to pick up his bag, collecting the drinks that had rolled out and replacing them into the bag. God, that encounter had left a bad taste in his mouth. It was no better than going to a closer convenience store after all.

"U-Um… excuse me?" A voice hesitantly asked, and Shinsou startled, turning to see the bullied kid standing there, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

Shinsou cocked his head, staring the kid down. He guessed they were the same age, but he was still decently taller than this stranger. "You're still here," he observed dryly.

"Uh?" The kid blinked, confused, and then gesticulated wildly, waving his hands around as his face reddened. "O-Of course I am! I couldn't just run off without thanking you for the help, that's hardly the right thing to do! And I was also kind of… okay a lot, but still, curious about your quirk? It looks like some kind of hypnosis, or mind control? Maybe a simple command that you can probably communicate with your voice but I'm trying to figure out what condition gives you the trigger. Like, is it eye contact? But no, there were too many kids that you controlled all at once, so that-"

"…you're not… scared?" Shinsou asked, slightly bewildered as he tried to keep up with the rambling. "I could tell you to do the same thing, you know."

The look he received to this suggestion was startled, perhaps even offended. "Why would you do that? You just proved you're heroic by helping me out!" The kid shook his curly green hair out of his face, wiping dirt off his cheek to expose freckles. He smiled, and Shinsou almost forgot to breathe as he stared down at the shorter teen in confusion. When had been the last time someone outside of his family had been so unguardedly happy when talking to him? He couldn't remember. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, by the way. Nice to meet you!"

"…Shinsou Hitoshi," he finally replied, still giving Midoriya an odd look. "What were those bullies going after you for, anyways?"

Midoriya's smile immediately vanished, and something in Shinsou curdled at the sight. "Ah. That," Midoriya said awkwardly. "They don't like that I want to be a hero."

 _What._

"What do you mean?" Shinsou asked, and realized his voice had come out much too sharply when Midoriya flinched, eyes averted. "Sorry. I mean. What right do they have to tell you that?"

Midoriya shrugged. "That's just how it is. But I'm not going to give up, y-you know? I'm going to apply to UA in two years, regardless of what they have to say about it. Being a hero is my dream. I can't just give up because of… quirk complications."

And oh. Oh no, now Shinsou couldn't _not_ be deeply invested in this Midoriya kid.

"You can't help the things you long for, huh?" He mused to himself quietly, and then nodded and looked back at Midoriya. "I think you can do it, though."

"What?"

"Be a hero. Those people, people that have their whole lives decided by birth just from luck of the draw of getting a good, heroic quirk- their words mean shit." Shinsou didn't know where to look again, suddenly feeling oddly embarrassed and reaching up to scratch the back of his head. His eyes roamed around the park, bouncing away from Midoriya.

"Do- do you mean that?" Midoriya asked after a moment, his voice cracking. His eyes were watering again, and he scrubbed at them furiously for a moment. "Sorry. It's just- I think that's the first time anyone has ever said that to me. So it means a- what are you doing?"

Shinso straightened up, offering Midoriya one of the drinks he had been carrying in his bag. "Want one?" He asked simply.

Midoriya blinked, and Shinsou couldn't help but be reminded of a cat as Midoriya hesitantly took the drink and blinked at him again for a moment. "Thanks," he repeated awkwardly, smiling again at Shinsou.

"Mmm." Shinsou wandered over to a park bench and sat down, popping open a drink to take a sip himself. His unspoken invitation hung in the air, and as soon as Midoriya seemed to understand it, he immediately plopped down next to Shinsou, opening up his own drink.

"I'm the same as you, you know." Shinsou said, staring down at his drink as he swirled it around in one hand. "I'm also planning to apply to UA in two years."

Midoriya leaned forwards, eyes widening. "Wait, really? Shinsou-san, that's amazing! I bet with a quirk like yours, you'll be a great hero!"

Shinsou glanced over at Midoriya, looking for sarcasm, but saw none, the other boy looking genuinely excited. "You don't think my quirk is more suited to other things?" Shinsou asked.

"What do you mean? A quirk like yours would be really useful in safely and quickly stopping villains, not to mention information gathering and confessions to crimes! It would be an incredible quirk for a hero!" Midoriya said, excited, starting to pick up speed again.

"No, I mean," Shinsou cut in, shrugging. "Isn't my quirk like a villain's? Everyone else says so." The wind finally picked up, the trees shifting as the hot summer air was finally combated with a hint of coolness.

"Well, they're wrong," Midoriya said, this time quieter. He gazed at Shinsou, and his expression shifted as he looked back across the park, at a patch of scorched ground. "I know you're going to be a fantastic hero, and I just met you. And a hero has a hero's quirk. So there."

Shinsou gazed back, almost unsettled by the burning confidence and conviction reflected back at him, before he finished chugging his drink in one go and tossed it at the nearby recycling bin, making the shot in one go. "Well." He stood up, stretching as he picked up his remaining drinks. "Sorry for dumping some of that on you. But. Thanks," he said awkwardly. "It was… nice to meet you, Midoriya-san."

"No, call me Izuku!" Shinsou's new… acquaintance? Friend? told him, fishing around in his pockets for a moment before pulling out his cellphone and opening it. "Hey, can- can I have your number? We could maybe study together to get into UA! I've been thinking about getting into martial arts, and it would be pretty nice to get a training buddy." He trailed off, seeing Shinsou staring at him. "Oh! But only- only if you want. I was just thinking that with a quirk like yours, you probably don't have much experience physically fighting- wait, that came out wrong, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Shinsou held out a hand, palm up. "Okay," he simply said.

Izuku seemed to glow, placing his phone face up in Shinsou's hand. He watched intently as Shinsou entered his phone number into the phone and passed it back.

"So I'll see you around, then, Shinsou-san?" Izuku asked hopefully, glancing down at his phone screen before looking back at Shinsou.

"…just call me Shinsou," he replied, before turning and walking away. Before he had even made it to the train station, Shinsou felt his phone buzz in his pocket once, and an unknown number popped up on the screen.

 **Unknown:** hey shinsou, this is izuku! thank you so much for today it meant a lot to me. maybe we can meet up again sometime?

Shinsou stared down at it before a small smile curled his lips upwards.

 **Shinsou:** That depends. How do you feel about cat cafes?

* * *

Izuku drew in a shaky breath, glancing down at his phone again before looking back up at the café. A white cat looked back at him, one ear flicking behind it as its mouth gaped open in a soundless yawn behind the glass.

"Are you going to go in?" A familiar voiced asked, sounding tired and mildly uninterested.

Izuku spun around, flushing pink as he saw Shinsou staring down at him with one eyebrow quirked. "Oh! Shinsou-san!" Izuku greeted him, trying to ignore the relief that poured through him at the realization that he hadn't actually been stood up. "You came!"

Shinsou gave him a slight look from the corner of his eyes, expression unreadable, before he nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Just Shinsou," he corrected Izuku, apparently unaware of the implications of letting Izuku just informally call him by his name like that, even if it was his last name. "I don't lead people on," he said. "Now, can we go in? Or did you just want to stand around and talk outside of the actual café?"

"O-Oh, uh, we can go in," Izuku stammered, but from the slight curl of Shinsou's lips, he knew that he was not trying to be mean by his question. Izuku relaxed slightly, following Shinsou into the café.

Immediately upon entering the cat area, no less than three cats came rushing over to Izuku's legs, letting out trilling little cries as they wove around him.

"Shinsou?" Izuku asked.

"Hmm?"

Izuku crouched down, entranced by the cats that immediately tried to climb into his lap. "I think I would die for these cats and I just met them."

Shinsou lets out a soft chuckle, and sat down next to Izuku. "Best cat café in Musutafu. I come here a lot, when I have things on my mind."

 _Is this a special place for him?_ Izuku wondered, fidgeting a bit before getting distracted as a black cat bumps its head against his arm, demanding to be petted. "So, uh. Thanks for agreeing to hang out! I didn't have anything I planned to do all summer, so it's really nice to have a friend I can go see." Oh no, Shinsou was staring at him again. "Uh. Unless I'm being too forwards! Maybe you consider us more acquaintances or…"

"Friends is fine," Shinsou replied, but his voice came out lower than usual, and he blinked a few times before chuckling. "You're seriously not bothered by my quirk, huh?"

"Not at all!" Izuku replied earnestly, leaning forwards. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about it, if that's okay. I really like researching quirks, and yours seems really versatile! Like, can you make someone use a skill they don't have? Like, say you told me to do a backflip. Would I be able to do that? How long does your quirk last? Can you give people suggestions to activate later on the line or is it an in-the-moment kind of deal? How do you activate it anyways?" He was ready to keep plowing on, brain churning, when he caught Shinsou's expression as the purple-haired teen stared at him, eyes wide. "…Sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No, no." Shinsou scratched underneath a cat's chin, looking almost embarrassed himself. "I just haven't had anyone be so curious about that before. As for the questions… I activate my quirk when someone verbally responds to me, but I- I actually don't know about the others. I haven't really experimented with my quirk like that."

Izuku sits up, almost too quickly as the black cat meows at him unhappily. "Well, I can help you!" Izuku gushed. "I bet you need to be really good at using your quirk to get into UA, and I'm pretty good at thinking up different uses for quirks, so you can practice on me!"

"You- You don't mean that."

"Of course I do! You're my friend, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to practice your quirk on me! I'd love to help you," Izuku insisted.

Shinsou shifted, still looking skeptical, but sighed and smiled at him. "You're something else, Izuku. I've never met someone who _wants_ to experience my quirk Brainwashing before. But," Shinsou continued, resting his chin on one hand as he stared at Izuku. "It'd be unfair to ask you to focus on helping me get into UA when you also want to go. How about I help you train your quirk as well, while we're at it?"

Izuku stiffened. "Um," he said, because _shoot he had forgotten to mention that one particular detail hadn't he?_ "Shinsou, I don't… you said that you thought I could be a hero," Izuku finally muttered. "But I- I don't have one."

Shinsou blinked. "Have what?"

"A quirk," Izuku said, hating himself, hating how his voice still caught almost a decade after learning this particular fact about himself. "I'm quirkless."

Shinsou slowly nodded, and once again Izuku wished he could read his expression better. "And that's why those idiots were picking on you," Shinsou affirmed, nodding to himself thoughtfully. "We're both really at a disadvantage for UA, huh." Shinsou glanced over at Izuku's stunned face and sighed. "Izuku. After all you just said about my quirk- I'm not going to make fun of you for that. I of all people know what quirk discrimination is like, even if I experience a different type of it."

"Thanks," Izuku whispered, and Shinsou waved him off.

"Don't mention it." The two lapsed into silence, the cats the only noise they could hear for a moment since no other customers were currently there. Odd, considering how friendly the cats were.

"So," Izuku finally asked. "Do you still want to train together? I meant what I said, about helping you with your quirk."

Shinsou nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Let's do that. Wouldn't that be something, if both of us got into the Heroics course? I'm sure that would show quite a few people a thing or too about judging people solely based on what type of quirk they have."

And this time, when Izuku smiled at Shinsou, the grin he got in return was wide, unguarded, and Izuku almost got weepy just from the knowledge that finally, finally he had made a friend that just… accepted him.

He could get used to this, Izuku thinks as they get up to leave, entirely unaware of the exact same thought also running through Shinsou's head in that very moment.

* * *

Spending three days of his week at a dojo for Taekwondo had not been what Shinsou had expected to do with his summer, but it seemed like that's what he was doing from now on. Izuku had been the one to suggest Taekwondo, since "kicks have a lot more strength than punches!" and apparently there was a dojo right in the middle between their two houses, so Shinsou grudgingly agreed even though he had personally been more interested in Muay Thai. Well, there was nothing stopping him from picking it up later, he finally conceded, and right now the main goal was to get fit so he could actually have a fighting chance, so therefore the actual form of fighting was only half of the importance of doing it.

Perhaps even weirder, Shinsou found himself spending at first two days, then three, then four of his non-martial arts training days with Izuku. They often discussed fighting techniques, and true to his word, Izuku had allowed Shinsou to brainwash him repeatedly to test his limits. Shinsou had, of course, not done anything Izuku would be uncomfortable with, careful not to shatter the trust that his new friend seemed to have freely given him. It made him angry, actually, to know this kind person and wonder what he might have become if he had had a "heroic, flashy quirk" like society demanded. If anyone deserved a fighting chance, it was him, and Shinsou slowly realized his dream was no longer "I want to be a hero," but "I want to be a hero with Izuku."

Summer was soon enough coming to a close, though, and Shinsou was not shocked to realize he was quite disappointed with the knowledge that he would have less time with Izuku as he returned to school. Shinsou sighed, rolling onto his back to stare up at the trees above him. Already the cloying heat of summer was dying down, and the sun was setting a bit earlier in the day. If only they had more than a month off from school.

"Hey, Shinsou?" Izuku asked from beside him, looking up from his _Hero Analysis for the Future No._ 11 notebook, eyebrows scrunched as he seemed to rethink whatever he was going to say. For once, he didn't mutter, so Shinsou sat up, stretching. His clothes clung to him from his sweat, and he could feel slight aches in his muscles already developing from their jog.

"What is it?" He asked, blinking at Izuku.

"Have you ever thought about… _about-becoming-a-vigilante_?" Izuku quickly muttered, looking out through the trees to where the moon was just starting to appear.

"…what."

"Y-You know! I was just thinking; it would be good experience for becoming heroes. We are behind on skill, so isn't experience the best way to make up for that? We wouldn't show our faces, and I was thinking about keeping your quirk hidden- maybe we could say we had analytic-type quirks, or are both quirkless, or something like that! It could be really cool!"

"Or we could both get hurt, or die, or get caught and be penalized and never allowed to even apply to UA," Shinsou deadpanned.

Izuku blanched. "W-Well yeah, but if I don't have a quirk, and you don't use yours, then what do we get penalized for? Most vigilante laws are focused around the actual usage of a quirk. We just need actual fighting experience."

Shinsou stared at Izuku incredulously. "You're serious." How long had Izuku been thinking about this? Knowing him, a long time. And the risk almost didn't seem worth it. But… but.

This could be the thing that changes everything. Izuku was right; they needed experience. They had just started working out together, and Shinsou was more aware now than ever that he was just... too weak.

"Okay," Shinsou said slowly. "But nothing to draw a lot of attention to ourselves. Nothing that is super dangerous. And we stop once we get into UA."

Izuku straightened up, eyes sparkling. "Yes! Of course, I knew you would see it my way! This is going to be fantastic, all we need are some costumes and names-"

"Wait, names?" Shinsou tries to interject, but Izuku keeps going, oblivious to Shinsou's presence for the time being.

"But they can't be what we want as our hero names, so we need to pick something else since we could get in trouble if any of this is actually traced back to us. Also, I think getting some kind of armor like our Taekwondo sparring gear would be pretty smart, since we'll probably be facing people with quirks and maybe knives or guns at some points."

"Guns." Shinsou rubbed his forehead. "Izuku-"

"Yes?" His friend asked cheerfully, looking up from his notebook again. And shoot, with that specific look in his eyes, the way he held his shoulders, there was no way Shinsou could veto this plan _now_. He would just have to make sure Izuku didn't get himself killed or caught.

That couldn't be too hard, right?

"…I was kind of thinking that we should have darker costumes," Shinsou finally said, wincing internally as Izuku started nodding excitedly.

"Yes! I actually have some more ideas about that…"

What exactly had he gotten himself into?


End file.
